Daily News Analysis (Prelims + Mains) – 19th October 2018
General Study – II
Topic:
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance
of these schemes;
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development and Lady Irwin College, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing ROSHNI – Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action.
DAY-NRLM
Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India in June 2011.
In November 2015, the program was renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM).
DAY-NRLM aims to reach out to 8-10 crore rural poor households (based on SECC 2011) in a time bound manner, and, stay engaged with them till they come out of abject poverty.
It envisions breaking the self-perpetuating cycle of malnutrition- illness- out-of-pocket expenditure for treatment-poverty through its savings and enterprise approach and layering of Food, Health, Nutrition and WASH (FHNW) interventions through Self-help groups (SHG) and their federations.
DAY-NRLM adopted Dashasutra (10 principles) strategy. Since launch, 5.39 crore women have been mobilized for SHGs and over 47 lakh SHGs created.
DAY-NRLM is also MoRD’s nodal agency for implementation of the convergent action plan under the POSHAN Abhiyaan, which in addition to MORD includes the Ministry of Woman and Child Development and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
ROSHNI
ROSHNI is technically and financially supported by UNICEF India serving as a technical support unit at national level for DAY-NRLM and is embedded in the Department of Development Communication and Extension, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.
Roshni aims to work with women collectives for social action on FHNW interventions in alignment with DAY-NRLM Dashasutra strategy and supporting implementation of convergent action plan under POSHAN Abhiyaan.
General Study – III
Topic:
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new
technology.
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV)
- Indian Navy has inducted its first deep submergence rescue vehicle.
- It can be deployed to rescue downed or disaster-struck submarines at high sea. It can also deployed for various other missions including to lay cables on the sea bed.
- The DSRV which was inducted can be mobilized from the naval base in Mumbai to nearest mounting port by air, land and sea. Second is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam.
- With induction of the DSRV, India has joined a select group of countries like US, China, Russia and a few other countries that have the capability to locate and rescue distressed submarines.
OneerTM
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), Lucknow has developed an innovative technology for “Drinking Water Disinfection System” with Trade name “OneerTM”
- It is useful for continuous treatment of water and eliminates all disease causing pathogens such as virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and cyst to provide safe drinking water to domestic and communities settings as per National and International standards prescribed for potable water (BIS, WHO etc.).
- The smaller unit of Oneer is particularly suitable for homes, street food vendors, and small establishments.
- The technology will be helpful especially for rural people since it can be solar powered and this development is in line with the ‘Make in India’ Mission.
General Study – III
Topic:
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Unclogging our oceans
- Kerala’s south coast March 2018: 400kg of ghost nets were taken out by fishermen.
- Tamil Nadu to Maharashtra: fishermen are diving to clean our ocean floors.
- Other casualties: worldwide include whales, dolphins, sharks and even pelagic birds.
- 2016 publication: 5,400 marine animals belonging to 40 different species were recorded as entangled in ghost gear
- 2011-2018: 601 sea turtles entangled
- A 2018 reportby London-based World Animal Protection highlights how the accumulation of ghost gear in global waters is having a “catastrophic impact”: Each year, more than 705,000 tons of it builds up in the oceans — an estimate the non-profit animal welfare group believes may actually be higher.
- Meanwhile, up to 71 percent of “entanglement incidents” involve encounters between an animal and plastic rope or netting, which includes ghost gear. In 79 percent of cases, entanglement causes harm or death, the study found.
- Lack of proper data about Indian coasts is a matter of concern.
- According to the scientists, the government is also currently preparing a national ghost net management policy.
- Entire fishing communities are affected.
- Transforming used nets
- Canada & Thailand: recycled into yarn to craft socks and even carpet tiles
- A gear-marking programme is being tested in Indonesia so that the trajectory of gear, if it drifts away, can be studied better.
- Outreach and education among fishing communities would be crucial along with policy-level changes.
- In one instance in India, ghost nets hauled from Kerala’s Kollam have been used to pave roads.
About Ghost Gear:
- When the items — nets, lines and traps — are inadvertently lost or abandoned at the bottom of the ocean, they become classified as ghost gear.
Effects of Ghost Gear:
- Debris not only pollutes the waters, but it disrupts ecosystems and has become increasingly deadly.
Creating a sea change: towards ghost-gear-free seas To find a lasting solution to this problem, World Animal Protection is launching the Global Ghost Gear Initiative: an alliance of governments, industry, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, with a shared commitment to tackle the problem of ghost fishing gear. The initiative will:
- Share data, intelligence and resources to understand ghost gear abundance, causes, impacts and trends.
- Promote a shared commitment to support the expansion and replication of existing effective solutions to reduce ghost gear.
- Share learnings and resources from effective solution case studies, in both policy and practice, to enable replication and expansion.
- Be a platform to drive and develop new ways to tackle the ghost gear issue. Enable solutions to be focussed in areas where ghost gear is a particular problem, and create funding opportunities for projects in these areas.
- Enable global monitoring and showcase the impact of projects that can catalyse further change.
Topics for Prelims
6th India International Silk Fair Inaugurated
- The Indian Silk Export Promotion Council is also organizing B2B meeting of participants with buyers and a Fashion Show of the participants.
- The 3-days exhibition is expected to generate business of over USD 20 million for the SMEs engaged in producing silk and silk blended garments, fabrics, accessories and floor covering.
- India is the 2nd largest producer of silk after China and is emerging as a leading exporter. The Indian products are in demand in USA, UK, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
- 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to be held in Brussels.
- The theme of the ASEM Summit is ‘Global Partners for Global Challenges’.
- The bi-annual event is considered the highest platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of trade, investment, security and tourism.
- As many as 51 Heads of States/ Heads of Government are expected to participate in the Summit where a wide range of issues from climate change to terrorism are expected to be discussed.